Hi, it’s me, Ben! It’s time for my yearly blog post again. A lot has changed since my last one. The biggest thing is we got a house! It’s been a lot of fun and stress but thankfully the stress is almost gone since we’re almost 100% settled in/renovated.

I won’t make this long. I just wanted to give my thoughts on checking in with people that you care about. I’ve been known to “overcheck” on Faith sometimes. This usually starts with saying or texting “Are you okay?” to which Faith will reply “I’m fine.” And that’s what we want to hear right? WRONG. In Faith-speak “I’m fine” = “something is wrong.” Now that I know this I usually end up just questioning her more. This gets really frustrating for Faith as she either doesn’t want to talk about it or isn’t really able to at the time.

Sometimes Faith will tell me how frustrating it is to have people checking on her all the time. I can understand that. No one wants to be babysat when they’re 25. In the past that has led me to “undercheck” on her sometimes. That was a bad idea lol. I’ve learned to give her a little space when she needs it but I will always be just outside waiting for her to be ready to talk or be held.

In the end, I choose too much checking rather than not enough. Not only can overchecking keep someone safe in a really dangerous time, but it also lets people know they’re cared for. Even though it can frustrate Faith to have people checking on her I know she would much rather have that than the loneliness of not having anyone care. So if you know someone that might need checking on, just do it. They might not want to talk but they could be very glad to know someone cares enough to check on them.